Injuries, such as those from motor vehicle crashes, violence, and falls, are the leading cause of death in the first half of the human lifespan. Globally, more people die from injuries and trauma each year than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Despite some progress in preventing injuries, recent years have seen spikes in opioid overdoes, suicides, motor vehicle deaths, and adverse childhood experiences, and youth injuries, including those related to violence and mental health challenges.

That’s precisely what the Columbia Center for Injury Science and Prevention (CCISP) aims to address — and will continue to do so thanks to another five years of funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For 15 years, the Center — based at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health — has remained one of just eleven centers nationally funded by the U.S. agency. 

Co-led by TC’s Sonali Rajan and Mailman’s Charles Branas, the Center generates new science to address the ongoing challenges that injuries create in the U.S., providing actionable research and training the next generation of injury prevention scientists. The CCISP team of some two dozen injury prevention scientists, from a range of schools at Columbia, including very prominently the Mailman School and Teachers College, works in tandem with regional, national, and government partners to fast-track research and programs to improve the safety, health, and well-being of individuals across the life course and with a special focus on historically marginalized communities.

“Our mission at CCISP is to accelerate equity through the science of safety,” explains Rajan, Professor of Health Promotion and Education. “Over the past few years, we have advanced science in this field and made progress on several salient areas of injury science and prevention, including adverse childhood experiences, firearm violence prevention, opioid overdose, among others. Looking ahead, our Center will continue to build on this needed work, and with a strong focus on and commitment to equity and social justice.” 

[Learn more about the work of CCISP here.]

In addition to her work with CCISP, Rajan is the first and founding president of the Research Society for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms, who studies evidence-based solutions that can curb the public health threat. At the College and beyond, her work has helped usher in a new generation of gun violence prevention experts and shape the emerging field. 

— Timothy Paul